Xandros Desktop OS 3.0: A Solid, Modern Replacement for a Windows Desktop

Looking at Xandros

January 27, 2005

By
Bill von Hagen

Xandros' latest release of their Linux
Distribution, known as Xandros Desktop OS, continues their tradition
of a polished, complete distribution oriented towards user who
formerly used a Microsoft Windows desktop system.

This is simply their
target market--Xandros Linux is eminently suitable for use by any
Linux user who wants a modern Linux system but doesn't require
traditional Window managers and is comfortable focusing on KDE rather
than the GNOME desktop. Some GNOME applications, such as Evolution,
and the required GNOME infrastructure are available as updates to the
system, as are traditional GTK applications such as FireFox and GIMP.

Xandros Linux is a descendant of Corel's Debian-based Linux
distribution, but has continued to evolve as a stable and
well-though-out Linux distribution since the founding on Xandros a few
years ago. Unlike many Linux distributions, its freely downloadable
versions lag somewhat behind the official releases.

At the time this
review was written, a free download of their basic 3.0 was not yet
available. This is largely a marketing decision, since free downloads
cut into the potential customer base but serve to help increase market
share and awareness. However, at $49.95 for the Standard distribution
and $89.95 for the Deluxe edition, no one's going to debtor's prison
for buying a copy of their official releases.

The Deluxe edition
primarily differs from the Standard edition in that it includes
enhanced Windows compatibility software, such as Crossover Office,
which is discussed later in this review, which focuses on the
Deluxe edition, the version of the software that we received
for review.